Why does some people's hair grow lopsided?

 There are people in this world like me that always seem to have uneven hair.  One side has always grown in differently than the other side. Historically, for all my life, I would always get breakage on my right back side of my head.  I always was proned to lopsided hair.  So why is that?  During my 2014 Sisterlocks training, I discovered something amazing.  The curl pattern on my left side of my head is slightly looser than the right side of my head.

If you look at the pictures above with the hair strands in the water, then you will be able to see that the diameter of my curl revolutions are two different sizes.  Also, the looser curl pattern remained floating at the top of the water, but my tighter curl pattern sunk to the bottom of the glass.  I had an "aw-haw" moment.  Two different curl patterns that were behaving differently in water. This was surreal.  I now realized that my hair on my head has always had two different needs as far as regimens.

My looser curl pattern remained a long strand, but the tighter curl pattern seemed so fragile that I only could grab short strands.  Simply amazing.  So the reason why my hair has historically grown in lopsided is because I had two different curl patterns on each side of my head.  The side that was most sensitive to breakage has the tightest curl pattern.  By locking my hair and staying away from chemicals, I believe for once in my life, I will be able to maintain even length hair.

If you are interested in checking out your own head for curl pattern variations, then try this texture test:

1) Get a clear tumbler of water and sit it on paper that is the opposite color of your hair.
2) Make sure there is at least 3 inches of water in the glass.  You want to see if your hair sunks to the bottom of the glass or not
3) Harvest strands from various areas of your head by running your fingers through your natural hair or your locks.
4) Put the strands into the glass of water and see if they float or sunk .  Look at the curl diameters to compare if they are all consistent or not.

Net Weaving and Thinning Edges

With so many people going natural and leaning on sew-in weaves to maintain some control over their hairstyling, netting questions have come up as well as concerns about adding additional hair to the braids to give extra styling control.

First of all, commercial hair adds extra weight to your own hair.  If you already have thin edges, and you have extra hair attached to the thinning areas, then the stress from the heaviness of the attachment can eventually cause more hair loss.

Netting can bridge a support system for bald patches or become a support system when a limited number of braids are used to complete a sewn in weave.

If the weight of any commercial hair is not evenly distributed, then it can cause damage to any area that is bearing the bulk of the weight.

So adding hair to the braids where the hairline is thinning and/or attaching a net to support additional commercial hairstyling will probably cause damage to the hairline within 2 to 4 weeks if too much stress is on the hairline.

Why are Braids extensions equalling Breakage?

I have seen an alarming rate of women getting extreme breakage from braid extensions! It is perplexing. They are breaking all the way to the new growth in large patches.

So beware if you are thinking about getting braids to grow your hair out; then you may find that you are creating more damage.

Most of the women that have come to me for consultations have only mentioned that "braids" took their hair out. In the future, I will have to start asking which braids - kinky twists? Microbraids? Synthetic hair? Which brand of hair? to see if I can start to narrow down a more consistent pattern. Many women have been so disgusted that they barely want to speak. They just want their hair back.

I can only offer some insight or theories about what is happening:

1) The extension hair may be too heavy for your own hair if too long of length is used. Synthetic hair weighs more than Human hair, but synthetic hair is much cheaper than human hair.

2)Have the manufacturers changed the material that the synthetic hair is made from? Could the material be "cutting" into the hair strand?

3)Maybe the client's own hair has been flat ironed too much causing the actual hair strands to be weaker and unable to support the extension hair? I have warned in my articles for over a year that ionic flat irons burn the internal structure of the hair. It becomes thinner and weaker. I suggest grabbing a large barrel curling iron before grabbing a flat iron.

Whatever the case, women need to go back to the owners of the braid shops and let them know what happened! If enough people start doing this, then at least, the owner can look into what is the cause. Going to a licensed cosmetologist after the braids have broken the hair off may not do you much good. I have articles on this blog about growth serum and natural hair. Please consider reading those.

Women are feeling that they are all alone. Tell the right people - the owners of the braiding salon - in a tactful, professional way. Then consider invisible braids or shorter braid extensions on your new growth to maintain a style. Human hair is probably the safest option right now. The Gluefree Quick weave method may also be another styling option. Please see articles for that method on this blog as well.

Feel free to comment on this article if you want to share on your experience.

A Quick Look at a Soft Press

I bought this coarse, textured hair mannequin at the Bronner Brother hair show. I attempted a "soft press" without shampooing it in the second picture.

Then, I actually got a chance to shampoo and condition my new kinky hair mannequin. I used heavy products such as creme press and curl wax to straighten and curl as picured in the third picture. This styling should hold longer with use of heavier products on coarse hairtypes.

Wigs and Extensions: Worried about Weight?

In this picture is a 100% Kanekalon wig that has been thinned out as well as some pinking shears from the fabric store. If you were to weigh each item separately on a scale, which do you think would weigh more?
The pinking shears weigh in at 4.75 ounces . . .
The layered wig weighs in at almost 5 ounces . . . oooohhhhh (4 7/8 oz). The wig weighs more than the pinking shears. Wow!
After weighing a 100% Human hair wig that was thinned out . . . it was about 3.75 ounces. That is an ounce or more lighter to carry around.

My point? Hair extensions, wigs, etc. can cause a lot of stress to the hair and scalp at all anchoring points. Human hair is lighter than the synthetic fibers. Weight and stress on the hair can cause thinning. The lighter the better!

Invisible braid styling

For this Invisible braid styling, I used Janet New Yaky Straight Hair. You must leave some your relaxed/texturized hairline out. A hairstylist such as myself will have to perform the haircut. Braiders just put the hair in.
You can see the braids at the roots. Your hair gets blended in! I do suggest that you get your hair shampooed, treated/conditioned, blow-dried, and flat ironed/straightened before getting any invisible braid service. Why? When your hair is not flat ironed/straightened, it looks thicker and is essentially less condensed. The braider seems to pickup less of your hair as she is braiding and more of the extension hair. The extra weight of the extension hair on the less condensed strands of your own individual hair can cause breakage. You will be able to feel the heaviness from day one. If it is heavy from the first day, then you need to get them removed within a month. That seems like a expensive hairdo right? Yes. So I strongly suggest straightening your hair first to condense the strands so that more of your hair is in each individual plait. The hair should not feel heavy if less of the extension hair is attached to your own hair.
For this invisible braid styling, I used Boyhme Remi 20 inch Natural Wave hair (around $100 per pack) on top and front. I used Enstyle French Refined Wet and Wavy in the back. Yes. I was trying to save some money . .
My hair is not fully relaxed; I keep it texturized because I want to maintain the strength of the hair. The braiding process can be stressful to already weak hair. Invisible braids is not suggested for completely natural hair either. Because your hair is partly loose and mixed in . . . you do not want to have different textures showing up within your hair style. You can see the braids at the roots. I still recommend flat ironing/straightening the hair first before getting "wet and wavy" hair extensions as well. You may be asking why straighten hair if you are planning to re-wet it anyway? Again, you want more of your "condensed" hair to go into each individual braid in order to support the weight of the hair extensions. Once you wet the style, your straight hair will definitely blend in. Invisible braids are great to allow the hairline to rest. Just twist set the front hairline into the wet and wavy hair; then just watch it grow. You can keep it moisturized and oiled with VO5 conditioning hairdress and Carefree Curl instant Moisturizer. (See my separate article on "containing curly hair") These simple "old school" products seem to not weigh the hair down and seem to nourish the hair while sporting the braided extension style.
The invisible braids look like strand to strand, but there is no adhesive nor glue involved. My braider that I use charges around $150 Labor only and takes about six hours on average. I have to cut and thin out the final hairstyle for my individual, personalized look.